Galdeano - It's too early to talk about Contador

Given the close ties between Alberto Contador, Samuel Sánchez and Fernando Alonso, rumours were bound to start circulating about the former teaming up with the latter pair on the new-look Euskaltel team in 2014.

That talk is premature, though, claims Igor González de Galdeano. The long-time Euskaltel Euskadi head is more than likely to be at the helm of the new team as well, and at this moment in time he claims it's unrealistic that Contador will team up in the near future.

The native of Pinto has a contract in place for next year with Saxo-Tinkoff, but some reports have it that Bjarne Riis is struggling to come up with the money needed to pay Contador's more than healthy wages.

"Contador? No, that's moving too fast. Right now we have to concentrate on the riders we have", he tells El Correo.

The team is likely to move its headquarters out of the Basque Country and become much more of an international team, thus paving the way - in theory, anyway - for big-name non-Basques to come on board.

Sánchez and Contador have on numerous occasions in the past admitted they'd love to ride on the same team before they retire, but it seems at best unlikely that will happen as early as next year.

As for the "new" Euskaltel, Spanish media have it that the team's name is likely to have 'Banco Santander', one of Alonso's big personal sponsors, in it.